


Into the Woods

by reeby10



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Fae Jaskier | Dandelion, First Meetings, Forests, Lost in the Woods, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23132617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: Geralt gets lost in the woods. But there's someone -- or something -- else following him.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 23
Kudos: 354
Collections: Teratophilia Trade 2020





	Into the Woods

**Author's Note:**

  * For [indefensibleselfindulgence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indefensibleselfindulgence/gifts).



Geralt wasn’t sure exactly where he was anymore. It wasn’t exactly a strange thing for him since most of his time was spent wandering from town to town, but this time he wasn’t on some nameless dusty road between towns. He was in the middle of the woods, alone, without even Roach for company.

He’d left her at the last village for safekeeping as he hunted a basilisk, which had seemed the best idea at the time. Now, not so much. He wasn’t sure how far he was from the village, or even in what direction it was, and these woods looked exactly like every other woods he’d been in for decades, so getting back to Roach was going to be… difficult.

Story of his life.

The only thing that broke the monotony of trudging along in what he hoped was the right direction was the sensation of being watched. He’d started feeling it a few hours before, and he’d subtly readied himself for attack from an unknown creature. But nothing had happened.

The eyes of whoever or whatever was following him kept doing just that. Following at a distance, no sign of attacking. Honestly, that just made him even more tense. Something attacking him in the woods he could handle. Something just following him? Strange and uncomfortable to say the least. He’d rather just fight and get it over with.

A few hours later, the sun starting to dip behind the neverending curtain of trees, Geralt was still unsure if he was getting any closer to the village. With the sun setting, it was time to decide whether or not to make camp for the night.

He could potentially keep walking through the night, as he had the past two nights, but he would honestly rather not. He was tired enough that sitting around a fire for a few hours’ rest sounded nice, though not quite tired enough that he had no choice but to stop or to take a potion to get him through. That didn’t seem like a good idea either with no idea of how much longer he would be out here without the rest of his supplies that Roach carried.

And there was still something or someone watching him. The only real bright side to that was that his medallion hadn’t reacted to the presence at all, despite how close Geralt could feel it was. So he was likely not in danger, but in a forest full of unseen dangers, that wasn’t enough.

The forest was fading to twilight, shadows lengthening, when he reached a clearing ringed in small yellow flowers. It would put him in a somewhat more vulnerable position with no cover, but it would also give him more room if it came down to a fight. He hoped very much it wouldn’t.

“Alright,” he called, stopping in the center of the clearing. “You can come out now.”

His words were met with silence, not even the rustle of leaves despite him straining his sense for any sound. He concentrated on sharpening his eyesight, peering into the shadows beneath the trees as he turned a tight circle in the middle of the clearing. There didn’t seem to be anything suspicious, which just made him more suspicious. He had enough experience hunting monsters to know that it was times like this that were most dangerous.

“I know you’ve been following me,” he said, a little quieter. He wasn’t very good at looking or sounding approachable, but he tried for the sake of hopefully enticing out his shadow. “Come out and we can… talk.”

A tinkling laugh rang out through the clearing, making Geralt immediately tense, hand going to the hilt of his sword out of instinct.

“I didn’t think you were much of a talker.”

Geralt turned in time to see the owner of the voice step out from beneath the trees behind him. The voice was lovely, warm and smooth with an otherworldly feel to it that was alluring to Geralt in ways he couldn’t quite explain. But that was nothing compared to the being stepping lightly toward him.

It — he, Geralt thought, feeling a little dazed — was tall and pale, dressed in almost garishly colored silks that seemed to float about his body. His dark hair didn’t quite hide a set of pointy ears. And there was nothing, not even the deepening twilight, that could hide the shimmery blue wings sprouting from his back. He was mesmerizingly beautiful. And oh so dangerous.

Geralt had had dealings with the fae before, and they rarely went well. The fae were known for tricks and riddles and dancing, sometimes literally, all around in an effort to confuse and ensnare. Geralt, short on words at the best of times, found them infuriating.

“Why have you been following me, faerie?” he growled. He lowered his hand from the hilt of his sword, but stayed tense, ready in case he needed to move quickly.

The faerie smiled, low moonlight shining off of inhumanly sharp teeth, and stepped forward until he was just out of easy reach of Geralt. “You can call me Jaskier,” he said, a hint of a laugh still audible in his melodic voice. “It’s so very nice to finally meet you, Geralt.”

Geralt growled, making an aborted move forward. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh, my dear wolf, I know many things about you,” Jaskier responded. “I know you hunt monsters, but don’t kill those who don’t kill.” He paused and winked, a roguish look on his ethereally handsome face, and Geralt fought against the pleasant flip of his stomach in response. “And I also know that you’re lost.”

True, and probably not too hard a conclusion to come to after having been following him for hours, but Geralt was still uncomfortable with how much this fae apparently knew about him. No matter how attractive or seemingly pleasant, he was dangerous. Even if Geralt’s medallion was still not warning him of anything even at this close range.

“What do you want?” Geralt asked when it seemed like Jaskier was waiting for him to speak. “If you’re trying to get me to make a deal-”

“No, no, of course not,” Jaskier interrupted, shaking his head. He bounced a little, wings fluttering behind him, grin widening. “I’m not what you’d call… a typical example of the fae. I don’t want to trick you into anything.”

Geralt narrowed his eyes. “Then what do you want?”

“Adventure!”

“Hmm,” Geralt replied, at a loss for what else to say. Monsters were easy; he knew how to deal with them, how to kill them. Even humans were easy. Their hatred made them easy to predict or avoid as needed. But this was not a situation he was prepared for.

“Don’t look so sour about it, I’d be a wonderful travelling companion!” Jaskier said cheerfully. “I have plenty of applicable travelling skills, you know. Conversation, music… some much more fun skills. I think you’d _quite_ enjoy travelling with me.”

He batted his startling blue eyes, bright even though now it was almost full dark. “And I can get you back to your horse too.”

This was starting to sound too good to be true, if Geralt was being honest. But he also didn’t have many choices left. It was either keep going in what he hoped was the right direction and get back to Roach eventually, or trust his medallion that he really wasn’t in danger from this beautiful, obnoxious creature.

“Fine,” he said.

Jaskier smiled widely, a look full of sharp teeth that somehow didn’t look as dangerous as it should have. He bounded forward and before Geralt could move, he pressed a sweet, floral scented kiss to Geralt’s lips.

“This way!” Jaskier called, heading back the direction Geralt had been coming from. “I know a shortcut!”

Geralt sighed, and followed. He was pretty sure he was fucked.


End file.
